[findalex]

Just to chime in with my own experience. 2021 Ascent Premium with the larger transmission cooler. Daily driver, no towing. 50K miles. Very smooth and no issues.

Sad that I can't buy the CVT fluid to drain/fill. 50K already seems a bit high for a CVT transmission.

Red line 30804 lists TR690 as a compatible transmission. Anyone believe this?

 

[findalex]

So I've been searching periodically the last 6 months for an aftermarket equivalent and haven't found anything.

Has anyone else had luck finding an alternative? I really don't want to spend almost $600 after tax to buy 5 gallons when I only need about 6 quarts.

 

[findalex]

Alright folks, I did it.

After I read and re-read Valvoline's CVT Fluid product info sheet that says it's recommended for Subaru High Torque CVTF LV, I took the plunge. Bought 2 gallons of Valvoline CVT for $60, and used the free ActiveOBD app paired with a $15 OBD adapter. At this price, I think I'll do two more drain and fills to slowly dillute all the old fluid out of the system since the free app doesn't support the transmission relearn function.

It's been a little over a month so far with more than 1000 miles and the CVT is performing flawlessly. I drove for about 2.5hrs straight in 100+ F temperature last weekend, going up and down the canyons of southern California without any problems at all. It may have also resolved some whining noise at first cold start that I started to hear. Finally, could be placebo effect, but the torque converter lockup harshness has decreased somewhat as well.

I will come back periodically to make updates, but I have faith in Valvoline transmission fluids. It's kept the ZF 8 speed on my Audi shifting as smooth as new for almost 145k miles now.

Now if I can only find a cheaper source for those NGK spark plugs.

 

[findalex]

The whining wasn't there when the car was new, started noticing it about 3 months ago. And the torque lockup harsheness was noticeable from day 1. So the improvements only happened after the recent drain and fill. Maybe I was blessed by the Subaru gods for being a good boy, but I'm think it has more to do with fresh fluid replacing the dark espresso that came out.

I guess only time will tell. I'm being the guinea pig for free, sharing my experience, adding a data point to help others make their own choice.

BTW, I forgot to mention that I did a drain and fill on my sister's 2019 Forester 1.5 years ago with the same Valvoline CVT fluid. Still running strong about 20K miles later. I know it's a different transmission model but the fundamental CVT chain technology is still the same.